We are about to see an expansion of Amazon Business in Europe and internationally according to reports from Reuters, although Amazon declined to comment. This follows on from the pandemic years when companies transitioned to shopping online more frequently as they looked for bulk discounts seeing sales boosted.
Amazon Business in Europe has seen sales growth of 25% in recent years and it makes good financial sense for Amazon as it’s significantly cheaper to deliver large bulk orders than individual items to consumers. Per unit, the logistics economics are significantly more attractive lowering the per unit cost of fulfilment.
Amazon are currently investing in logistics to support the expansion of Amazon Business in Europe, although it’s not been revealed which countries they intend to target. The service first launched in Germany and the UK, with Italy, Spain and France added soon after.
Business procurement trends
The recent Amazon Business State of Business Procurement Report, reveals the top trends for business buyers:
- 91% of B2B buyers state a preference for online purchasing.
- 58% of B2B buyers now make purchases that have to be delivered directly to an employee’s personal residence, accommodating an increasingly distributed workforce as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 84% of B2B buyers say their organizations plan to increase how much money they spend with Black- or other diverse-owned businesses.
- 63% of B2B buyers say that improving sustainability in their purchasing practices is a top goal.
Why supply buyers through Amazon Business in Europe
For retailers selling on Amazon, if you make your listings available, you’ll find that Amazon business sales are virtually the same as sales to consumers, but with VAT invoicing, the ability to offer business discounts on single or multi-quantity purchases and flexible payment options for customers. Business customers can also sign up for Business Prime which offers fast free One-Day delivery on qualified items as well as business features for greater transparency and control.
To give an idea of the scale Amazon Business can offer, in the it UK serves more than 50% of FTSE 100 companies, all of the 15 largest universities, 85% of the biggest cities, and over a third of the 15 largest hospitals across the UK, as well many other public sector organisations.
